The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), in response to recommendations in the Annual Report of the Advisory Council on the Education of Gifted and Talented Students (2015), has produced this document to provide guidance for school districts to more equitably identify and meet the needs of traditionally…

Though clinical judgement is necessary for appropriate diagnosis and provision of services to learning disabled children, such judgement must be based on objective evidence. A statistical procedure for applying the severe discrepancy criterion dictated in federal regulations is suggested for objectifying learning disability diagnosis. (Author/DB)